Taking Chances
by Sylkes
Summary: Never let your guard down. Trust no one. Those words were the ones she engraved in her heart every single day. After a certain mission, all that was left of Nadia Hunt was the husk of the woman she used to be. However when the world was threatened, a certain man out time just came and turned her gray world upside down, unveiling the mask she wore for past few years of her life.
1. Prologue

**Nadia**

 _Why was everything darkness? Where on earth was I? A voice, I could hear it everywhere. It kept on calling my name and whenever I heard it, it gave me this indescribable feeling in my stomach. This voice was so familiar. It was melody to my ears. Why was that? Slowly, I let my eyes flutter open, only to be greeted by painful brightness. For a moment, I had to let my eyes adjust while I felt the material that I was lying on. It was very comfortable and soft, it gave me a sense of warmth and it felt like home._

 _Now, I was dead curious. Where exactly was I? When my eyes got used to the light, I slowly sat up and looked at my surroundings. There was a mahogany closet and near it was a vanity table. This wasn_ _'_ _t my room at my apartment and clearly, this wasn_ _'_ _t my room at my uncle_ _'_ _s place. Cautiously, I stood up and went to the nearest window. I peered through it and my breath was immediately taken away. There was an exquisite and elegant garden displayed before me. I was starting to get nervous, where was I? Then suddenly, I heard some sizzling coming from outside. Someone was in the kitchen. Who could it be?_

 _Quietly slipping out of the room, I made my way to the kitchen with caution. When I got there, a well-built man was in front of the stove humming softly as he cooked. This man was very familiar, starting with the light brown hair. With my curiosity getting the best of me, I moved closer to him and accidentally bumped the leg of a chair. The man was alerted of my presence and he quickly turned around. My breath hitched when I saw the face of this unknown man. No, this was not possible! I must be dreaming!_

 _"_ _Well look at that, sleeping beauty is awake._ _"_ _He said with a cheeky grin on his face as he turned the stove off. Not wasting any time, I quickly lunged myself at him. He staggered a bit as his strong arms caught my waist._ _"_ _Nadia?_ _"_ _I didn_ _'_ _t respond and just clung onto him scared that if I let go, he would be gone. He slowly untangled me from him and cupped my face with his hands._ _"_ _Nadia, what_ _'_ _s wrong?_ _"_ _He was looking at me worried._

 _"_ _You_ _'_ _re here._ _"_ _I brought my right hand up and placed it on his hand that was still touching my cheek. His thumbs then gently wiped the tears that I didn_ _'_ _t notice until now._

 _"_ _Of course, I_ _'_ _m here silly. I will always be here._ _"_ _He tilted my head up and I was now looking at his forest green eyes that I adored so much. Closing my eyes, I leaned closer to him so I could revel in his warmth and love. He then leaned closer until our lips met. His muscular arms tightened their hold on my waist as he kissed me with so much passion. This feeling was something that I always yearned for, the feeling of being in his arms. After a while, we broke the kiss to catch our breaths._ _"_ _Go change your clothes._ _"_

 _He pecked my lips lightly before pulling away. Both of us had big smiles on our faces. I quickly went to my room and got changed. When I went back to the dining room, he stood there with a goofy grin on his face._

 _"Why are you smiling like that?" I smiled suspiciously and his grin just widened._

 _"It's a secret." He then moved behind me and whispered, "Close your eyes."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Just trust me, love." He lightly kissed my cheek._

 _I then closed my eyes and felt both of his hands cover my eyes. What on earth was he exactly planning? He then started leading me somewhere and he stopped after a few steps._

 _"Can I open my eyes now?" I asked as I heard the creaking sound of an opening door._

 _"Not yet." He answered and I could practically see that silly grin on his face._

 _"Where exactly are we going?" His hands were back to covering my eyes._

 _"You'll see." He then proceeded to lead me again . "There's a stairs. Slowly step your foot down."_

 _I followed his words and once we got down the stairs, we stopped again. His hands finally left my eyes._

 _"You can open them now." He muttered. The sight before me was so beautiful and sweet. Our breakfast was set up in the middle of the beautiful garden that I saw outside of the bedroom window. We were surrounded by beautiful flowers and on top of the table, there was an exquisite flower arrangement._

 _"What's this for?" I turned to him with a huge smile on my face._

 _"Well, I just want to do something special for you." He wrapped his arms around my waist. "Also, this is me, showing you how much I love you and how lucky I am to have you pick me out of all of the men out there."_

 _Hearing him say that made my heart melt. This man never failed to swoon me. I couldn't say anything so I just did the only thing I thought of. I softly kissed him and he responded immediately._

 _"I'm the one who is the lucky one. You already show me how much you love me every single day just by being by my side." My forehead rested on his before pulling away. "Come on. Let's eat."_

 _He kissed my cheek and led me to the table. He pulled on of the chairs out and made me sit on it. Breakfast was like how I always dreamed for it to be. It was filled with banters and laughter. He would make silly jokes that weren't actually funny but they never failed to make me smile. Once we were done eating, he stood up and held his hand out to me._

 _"Come on. I want to show you something." He grinned as I smiled at him curiously._

 _"Where are we going?" I asked for what seemed like the nth time today._

 _"You'll see, love. You'll see." He then led me to a place where I couldn't help but let my breath be taken away. Somewhere in the garden, he led me to a small gazebo where it was surrounded by beautiful flowers and hanging lanterns._

 _"It's beautiful." I whispered as I felt his arms wrap around my waist from behind. He then turned me around to face him and I was attracted to his forest green eyes that held so much love and passion._

 _"I love you, Nadia. Always and forever." He gently caressed my left cheek while I placed my hand on his._

 _"I love you too." I gently smiled at him, feeling that same butterflies in my stomach._

 _All of a sudden, I heard a gunshot. My eyes widened when he gasped and lurched forward. I caught him but his weight was too much for me to handle so both of us fell onto the ground. He remained on the ground and I quickly sat up and cradled him in my arms. Where did that gunshot come from? What on earth was happening?_

 _"_ _Na-Nadia_ _…_ _I_ _…_ _can_ _'_ _t_ _…_ _br-breathe_ _…"_ _His breathing was ragged and forced. Then, I saw it. I saw that one thing that scared me the most. Blood came out of his mouth. No! This was not happening! I couldn't lose him again!_

 _He then grunted as his once white shirt was getting stained with blood. I quickly placed my hand on that area to stop the bleeding._

 _"_ _NO! NO PLEASE!_ _"_ _I screamed as tears stained my face. He was looking at me with so many emotions in his eyes. They were starting to get glassy as well._ _"_ _NO, STAY WITH ME! PLEASE STAY WITH ME!_ _"_

 _"_ _Na-Nadia_ _…"_ _He then muttered something and took his last breath. He said those three words that always made my heart melt but now, they just broke my heart to millions of pieces. I let out a let out a pain filled cry while hugging him closer._

~~~~~X~~~~~

My eyes quickly snapped open as I gasped for air. Tears were already staining my face. When would this end? It was that again. The dream of my life with him was now a nightmare and it has haunted me every single night for the past few years of my life.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers and its plot. They belong to Marvels. I only own Nadia, my OCs and the details that I will add in the plot.**

HI GUYS! :) I made this new fanfic about Avengers/Captain America as promised! :) I hope you enjoy! Please tell me what you think about it! :)

The actress for Nadia Hunt is Odette Annable. :D


	2. Chapter 1

**Nadia**

An hour has already passed but it felt like days already. It was four in the morning and I was just staring blankly at my bedroom ceiling. After my rude awakening, I couldn't go back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. The same nightmare would keep on plaguing me in my sleep and I would always end up awake the entire night.

It has been like this for the past years. I have been like this since that day that I lost him. Whoever said that when you lose someone it would get better as time passed by: he was a liar. Not a single day passed by that I didn't feel the sadness of losing him, the guilt of not being able to save him and most of all, the anger of not being strong enough to protect him. Since that day, a hole grew in my heart and a part of me died with him. Everything was still vivid in my memory. Whenever I shut my eyes, all of the details on how he slipped through my fingers would play repeatedly like a broken videotape.

"I just wish you're here." A lone tear escaped my eye. No, I couldn't cry here. Everyone would be worried again. I couldn't let them know I cried. Taking deep breaths, I got up and went to the bathroom to get changed into my workout clothes, which was mainly shorts, sleeveless shirt and a jacket. Something had to get my mind off of these things and what better way there was other than punching a bag. Getting a small duffel bag, I placed inside it some stuff that I needed and headed out of my room. Then, I remembered something. I almost forgot to leave a note. If I didn't, uncle would kill me when I get back.

"JARVIS?" I called as I got in the elevator. Immediately, the A.I. responded.

"How may I assist you, Ms. Hunt?"

"Please take me to the garage. Also, would you please leave a note for uncle and Pepper that I'm going out for a morning workout?" The elevator then made a 'ding' sound that told me that I was at the garage level already.

"Of course, miss."

"Thanks, JARVIS. I'll be back after a few hours." With that, I made my way to my car and dumped my stuff inside. Then, I drove to this old gym that looked like the ones in the 1940's. That place had been my haven when I wanted to be alone since he died. Its ambiance just never failed to calm me and it helped me blow some steam off. Normal gyms didn't sit well with me because there were too many annoying people.

When I arrived, I immediately parked my car and went to the gym's basement where people rarely went. It was perfect, no one was here. I then dumped my bag on one of the benches and took off my jacket. Once my hand wraps and gloves were on, I immediately threw punches and kicks at a punching bag without any mercy. Every time I hit, it just reminded me of my time with him and tears were already starting to stain my face. This time I threw a powerful punch that caused the bag to swing vigorously. I sighed and then wiped the tears off of my face.

For a while, I let myself cool down a bit and take long deep breaths. Once my breathing was quite even already, again, I started pummeling the punching bag like there was no tomorrow. People always told me that I should move on but I couldn't. It never got easier even though almost two years had already passed since he got taken away from me. All of my memories with him were still as clear as day. Trying to get my sorrows out, I repeatedly punched the bag.

 _"_ _Always, always so beautiful, so alluring._ _"_ _He touched my cheek while our foreheads leaned on each other. We kept our eyes closed, relishing each other_ _'_ _s affection, as we swayed with the soft melody._

I threw another strong punch at the bag, causing it to sway as it hung on the hook. My mind was unconsciously starting to relive some of my memories of him again.

 _"_ _Be mine. Always and forever._ _"_ _His striking forest green eyes looked at me straight in the eyes as his warm rough hands cupped my cheeks. Every single emotion flickered in his eyes but the one that stood out always made my heart melt- love._

Gradually, the speed of my punches hastened until I was starting to beat the bag as if it offended me. Tears were apparently streaming down my face again. All sorts of questions and emotions were running through my head. Why did he have to be taken from me? Why the hell did I have to be so weak that I couldn't save the one that I treasured the most?

 _"_ _Na-Nadia_ _…_ _I love you_ _…"_ _He took his last breath as his eyes turned dull and glassy. My whole world just shattered as I clutched onto him. I screamed at the top of my lungs, drowning myself in misery._

That did it, it was too much. I delivered my final kick and it resulted to a part of the bag getting torn, letting out a good amount of sand. The manager of this gym would probably give me a scolding again for breaking their punching bags and for littering but whatever. I needed this right now.

All of a sudden, my senses were alerted when I felt another presence. I immediately wiped off my tears and put myself on guard. From the corner of my eye, I saw a man, wearing a white shirt and khaki pants, staring at me as he punched a bag of his own. Since when did he arrive? I didn't hear him enter nor did I feel his presence. Well, I shouldn't even be shocked. After all, I was so concentrated in beating the hell out of the punching bag.

After a while of observing the man, I didn't feel any threat from him so I decided to just ignore him. He was just probably one of those annoying guys that I encountered before, who go to the gym to show off and flirt with some girls. If he dared to come near me and do just that, I was going to beat the daylights out of him. Blocking him out, I went to my duffel bag and got drank from my water bottle. I looked at the time and it was already 7:30. Three hours have passed since I came here and I should go home soon. Uncle and Pepper might go look for me again. The last time I took my time here, both of them panicked and uncle searched through the whole New York for me. That was something that I didn't want to happen again.

After a while, I started to lose my patience because the man has been staring at me for the past few minutes. What the hell was his problem?

 _"Okay, calm down. Patience, Nadia."_ I wiped my sweat off, ignoring his existence. It was really getting onto my nerves. _"That_ _'_ _s it!"_

"Didn't anybody tell you it's rude to stare?" I glared at the man. As if he was snapped out of his thoughts, the man's eyes widened and his posture straightened.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am." The man stuttered as his face became flushed with embarrassment. I still glared at him as I studied his features. The man had sandy blonde hair that was styled in an old fashioned way and he had ocean blue eyes. He was tall, taller than 6 ft, and his body was well-built and toned. It was very evident how fit he was, seeing that his fitted white shirt was hugging all of his physique.

There was something about this man, he had an air of being old fashioned and like he didn't feel like he belonged to this time era. Well, that was just what my gut tells me. As people said before, you can't judge a book by its cover. When drinking my water, I could still feel him stealing glances at me.

 _"Seriously?"_

"What?" I turned back to the man and again, his face flushed from being caught. "If you want to say something, spill it."

"I- It's just that… uh… I've never seen you here before, ma'am." He then offered me a smile. There was really something different about this person, I just couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"I'll throw that back at you. I've never seen you here before." I maintained a neutral face. "People don't usually go here in this part of the gym."

"Well, I just started coming here a week ago. It just brings back memories and here, it feels like…" He said with such nostalgia in his eyes that I couldn't help but be intrigued.

"The place where you belong." I interrupted and he was now looking at me with shock and curiosity. "Home." He was about to say something but he was abruptly cut off by the ringing of my phone. I scrambled through my bag and took my phone. The caller was Carter Williams. Carter was a close friend of mine. "Excuse me, I have to take this." The man nodded as I turned away from him. I answered the call and brought the phone to my ear before pulling it away from my ear.

 _"_ _Nadia! Thank God, you answered!_ _"_ My boisterous friend yelled.

"Well, hello to you too, Carter." I sarcastically greeted.

 _"_ _Shield needs you to come in, Fury_ _'_ _s orders._ _"_

"You have got to be kidding me right? Carter, I just got my vacation after not having any day off for three months. Also, my uncle and Pepper are going to kill me if I took another job. They would think that I'm over exerting myself again like last time." Carter tried to cut my rant off but he couldn't.

 _"_ _Nadia, Shield is under turmoil. Barton has been compromised._ _"_ I immediately turned serious. That was already enough for me.

"I'm on my way." I hung up and quickly fixed my duffel bag. Someone stopped me when I was about to go out.

"Um, ma'am! What's your name?" I then turned around to face the owner of the voice. Right, I forgot that he was here.

"Why should I tell you?" I raised my brow at him. "I don't even know you."

"Right, that's really rude of me. I'm Steve." He smiled at me. "May I please know your name, ma'am?"

"It's Sarah." He was about to say something but I interrupted again. "Caitlyn or maybe Angela. Pick one." Steve narrowed his eyes at me as a smile started to make its way on his face.

"Will you ever tell me your name, ma'am?" I smirked at this, he was really persistent.

"Maybe. Who knows if I see you again, perhaps I'll tell you."

"Then, will I see you again?" Steve said with somewhat a hopeful voice. What was he hopeful for?

"Who knows." I then made my way out of the gym as an amused smirk started to plaster on my face. Putting my things in the car, I then drove back to Stark tower. All that happened this morning came back to me. Clint was compromised and the person who did that to him was now marked. He was not going to get away with this. Then all of a sudden, my mind then brought me back to meeting that man at the gym. He had somehow piqued my curiosity. Steve, huh? That person was definitely strange yet intriguing.

* * *

Hi guys! Here's a new update! Thank you to breebabbles, Shinigamidemidragonslayer99, Hellawoez! Thank you for adding my story to your favorites and following it! :D I'm not sure when I will post another chapter but this one won't probably take me long unlike my other story. Until next time~~! :D


	3. Chapter 2

**Steve**

It has been a week since I woke up from the ice, since I was pushed into this modern age. When everything was explained to me, I was speechless. I never expected to live after putting that Hydra plane under the cold water. Somewhere in my heart, I wished that I just died and they never found me. If they didn't, I wouldn't be here right now suffering from culture shock and struggling to find my place.

Until now, I still didn't feel like I belong. Well technically, I really didn't belong here since I was not from this time. I still haven't adjusted to how things worked during this era. You could say that technology and I didn't work well together. The alarm clock on my bedside table read 5:30 in the morning. The sun wasn't even up and yet, I couldn't go back to sleep. It was those again. I was haunted by my memories during the war.

Since I woke up from being frozen for almost 70 years, I haven't had one decent sleep at night. Whenever I closed my eyes, those nightmares of mine would always haunt me in my sleep. I would always end up getting out of the bed and going to the old gym near my apartment, that was styled like those in the 40's. That was exactly what I was doing right now. Going to the bathroom, I got changed into a white shirt and khaki pants. The things that would need were already inside my duffel bag. Then, I went out of the apartment and made my way to the gym. The walk to the gym only took about ten minutes. When I got there, I immediately went to the basement.

On my way down, my curiosity was raised when I noticed that there was light coming from the basement. I wonder who it was. People rarely came to the basement and more so this time of the day. Quickly, I went down to look at the gym. I was very shocked to see a woman punching a bag and it appeared that she had been for quite a while. She was so focused on beating the bag that she didn't even hear me coming down the basement. The woman had mid-length dark brown hair and had a lean and well-built body. Judging from the way she was punching and kicking the bag, this woman might be a veteran in self-defense.

Carefully going to a nearby bench, I placed my duffel bag on it and put on my hand wraps while still observing the woman. Until now, she still hasn't noticed my presence. From my angle, I couldn't see the woman's face so I went to an unoccupied punching bag close to the woman's. Once I could see a part of the woman's face, I was very shocked. Her cheeks were flushed, not just from her rigorous workout but also from crying. The streaks of tears that stained the woman's face were very evident. As she threw another punch, another tear fell down her cheek. The woman was glaring at the punching bag as if it had done her wrong.

Her eyes told a story that was filled with pain and sadness. The way she looked at the bag was just like me. Every punch was a memory of what we lost or what we try to forget. When she punched the bag, every single memory of pain and regret flashed before her. I wonder what had happened to this woman that made her this broken. It seemed another memory was the last straw because the woman kicked the bag with so much force that a part of it got torn. My eyes were glued to the woman as she went to a bench and drank from a bottle of water.

"Didn't anybody tell you it's rude to stare?" I snapped out of it once I heard an annoyed feminine voice. The woman was glaring at me because she had caught me staring.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am." My face was probably as red as a tomato right now because of embarrassment. The woman still glared at me and looked at me with a piercing gaze. I fidgeted as she stared at me in an intimidating manner. The way she looked at me felt like it was penetrating deep within me.

I then awkwardly punched the bag before my eyes trailed off to the woman again as she drank some water. For some weird reasons, I couldn't help but be interested with this person. She was different from all of the people that I had encountered so far.

"What? If you want to say something, spill it." She snapped, glaring at me again. My cheeks flushed because of another embarrassing moment. I gulped, seeing her scrutinizing gaze.

"I- It's just that… uh… I've never seen you here before, ma'am." I smiled.

"I'll throw that back at you. I've never seen you here before. People don't usually go here in this part of the gym." She answered back with a blank face. I didn't know why but I felt like I could tell this person about what exactly I felt.

"Well, I just started coming here a week ago. It just brings back memories and here, it feels like…"

"The place where you belong." She cut me off as I looked at her with shock and interest. "Home."

I was about to say something but a ringing sound stopped me. She searched through her bag and took out a device that they called mobile phone these days.

"Excuse me, I have to take this." I nodded as she slightly turned away from me. She brought the phone to her ear but she immediately pulled it away. The woman scrunched her face in annoyance.

"Well, hello to you too, Carter." Her sarcastic greeting made me chuckle but I held it in. It appears the person on the other line said something that made her more annoyed because she started to rant.

"You have got to be kidding me, right? Carter, I just got my vacation after not having any day off for three months. Also, my uncle and Pepper are going to kill me if I took another job. They would think that I'm over exerting myself again like last time." When she stopped, her face immediately fell and it turned in to a serious one. Her posture straightened and she suddenly became tense. That conversation must have been very important and serious.

"I'm on my way." She ended the call and quickly fixed her bag. She then immediately went to the exit but I stopped her. For some weird reasons, I needed to know her name.

"Um, ma'am! What's your name?" She turned around to face me.

"Why should I tell you? I don't even know you." She raised a brow.

"Right, that's really rude of me. I'm Steve." I smiled at her. "May I please know your name, ma'am?"

"It's Sarah." I was about to say something but she cut me off. "Caitlyn or maybe Angela. Pick one."

I looked at her curiously before I started to smile. Why wouldn't she tell me her name?

"Will you ever tell me your name, ma'am?" I wasn't expecting the smirk on her face. This was the first time she actually let an emotion appear on her face although I could tell that it was not really genuine. Something just lacked in it.

"Maybe. Who knows if I see you again, perhaps I'll tell you." She smirked tauntingly.

"Then, will I see you again?" I asked in hopeful voice even though I tried to hide it.

"Who knows." The woman then turned around and left.

I wanted to meet her again. Something told me that I would. That woman was different from all of the people that I encountered in this time period. Her eyes held many negative emotions- pain, sadness, guilt, and regret. I wonder what happened to that woman. The woman wore a mask and hid her true self under a facade. She was broken deep inside.

Shaking my head, I tried to forget about the woman and proceeded to my agenda here. Just like the brunette a while ago, I was beating the punching bag with no mercy. Every image and memory of my time during the war was flashing before me.

 _My team, the Howling Commandos, was assaulting the Hydra bases. I held my shield in front of me as I shot the enemies with my gun. Then, there was that time that I charged at the Hydra base for the last time because of what they did to my best friend._

The bag continued to sway as it hung in the hook. I couldn't care less. This entire burden that I carried was too much. Everything was different and I didn't know how to get through this.

 _"_ _There_ _'_ _s not enough time! I got to put her into the water!_ _"_ _I forced the Hydra plane into the water. Then, I felt nothing but coldness._

Every memory that flashed before my eyes just drowned me in misery every single time. It reminded me of all of the things that I had lost. Gradually, the strength of my punches increase and the bag was now vigorously swaying.

 _"_ _You won_ _'_ _t be alone._ _"_ _Peggy_ _'_ _s sweet voice rang in my ears as I looked at her picture that was in my compass. That was the time wherein I crashed the Hydra plane to the ocean which also led to my supposed death._

I lost everything. Sleeping for 70 years made me lose everything that I held dear, one of them being a certain agent that I fell in love with.

 _"_ _Oh my God! This guy is still alive!_ _"_ _Someone said. Who was that? Wasn't I dead? Where on earth was I? My eye lids were heavy no matter how much I forced myself to open my eyes. Everything was cold and dark. I felt nothing. I was numb and once again, everything went black._

That was the last straw. I punched the bag with so much force that it got torn and flew across the room, spilling the sand inside it. That still wasn't enough no matter how much punching bag I broke. All of these repressed feelings never went away. This anger, that I felt, could never go away. I stood properly and took a few deep breaths. Then, I got another punching bag which lay beside a few more punching bags. Once the bag was securely hooked, I began punching again.

"Trouble sleeping?" A familiar voice yelled. A man wearing all black stood at the basement's entrance. Nick Fury was his name if I remembered correctly. He was the same man who told me that I've been asleep for nearly 70 years.

"I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill." I pummeled the bag again.

"Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world." Fury walked towards me. I stopped punching and looked at him for a moment before starting to remove my hand wraps.

"I went under, the world was at war." I went to my bag while still removing one of my hand wraps. I then placed it in my bag before removing the other. "I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost."

"We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently." Fury held a folder in his hands. It must be a mission.

"You here with a mission, sir?"

"I am."

"Trying to get me back in the world?" Fury opened the folder and held it before me.

"Trying to save it." This caught my attention. I took the folder as I sat down on the bench. The file contained that one thing that led me into this mess.

"Hydra's secret weapon." I muttered, skimming through the files.

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs."

"Who took it from you?" Closing the folder, I gave it back to Fury.

"He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know."

"At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me." I picked up my bag and went over to the punching bags.

"Ten bucks says you're wrong." I simply chose to ignore that and picked up a punching bag.

"There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment." He added.

Placing the punching bag on my shoulder, I made my way out of the gym completely ignoring the man's presence.

"Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?"

"You should have left it in the ocean." I then left, thinking about Hydra's secret weapon and a certain brunette that I met today.

~~~~~X~~~~~

I was currently in what looked a plane but Agent Coulson called it 'quinjet'. Technology really had improved so much that it was hard for me to cope with it. I just couldn't get it even if it was just to use this so called tablet that I was holding right now. It took me so long to figure out how to move from one file to another. Since a while ago, I have been looking at the data about the people who I would work with.

"We're about forty minutes out from base, sir." The pilot said as Agent Coulson stood up from his seat and approached me.

"So this Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?" I asked, looking at Banner's file.

"A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

"Didn't really go his way, did it?"

"Not so much. When he's got that thing though, guy's like a Stephen Hawking." I looked at Coulson in confusion. "He's like a smart person." He simply answered.

I moved to the next file and my face scrunched in confusion. The profile of the next person was empty. Every data about the person was unknown except for his codename, Raven.

"What's wrong?" Coulson asked.

"It's empty." I looked at Coulson with a puzzled expression. "This person's file is empty."

Coulson was also confused so he took a look at the tablet and then sighed in frustration.

"Damn it, Hunt! Seriously?" He glared at the profile of this person called 'Hunt'. "Why do you have to do this every single time?!"

"Hunt?" I looked at Coulson confused before he turned to me apologetically.

"It's Raven's real surname. I'm so sorry, Captain. Our data base must have been hacked again which resulted to this particular profile to be unknown. Agent Hunt most likely deleted the data that would be given to the rest of the Avengers."

"Why would this Agent Hunt delete it?" I stared at Agent Coulson with curiosity and confusion.

"Uhh... Well, it's kind of complicated and it goes way back." He tensed a bit and at the same time sad. I only gave him a looked that said to elaborate on that. "Hunt forgot how to trust people because of a certain mission."

This caught my attention. There was something about this agent. It was like there was something to know about him.

"Certain mission?"

"I'm sorry but it's not my place to say it." Coulson looked at me apologetically while I just nodded in understanding. The tablet turned off. Then, there was a silence. After a while, Coulson decided to break it.

"I gotta say, it's an honor to meet you, officially." Hearing this made me smile at him. "I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." He muttered with full of admiration. Well, that was awkward. It appears he realized his mistake because he quickly corrected himself. Standing up, I leaned an arm on the entrance to the cockpit and gazed at the scenery outside.

"I mean, I was...I was present while you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it's really, it's just a...just a huge honor to have you on board." Coulson copied my actions.

"Well, I hope I'm the man for the job."

"Oh, you are. Absolutely. Uh...we've made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input."

"The uniform?" I raised a brow in confusion and curiosity. "Aren't the stars and stripes a little...old fashioned?"

"Everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old fashioned." He assured me and I couldn't help but wonder what exactly awaited me in this mission.

After waiting for half an hour, we were finally landing in one of the runways of what seemed like a battleship. I swear I really couldn't keep up with technology. Coulson called this place the Helicarrier. Coulson and I then walked down the ramp and a woman with short red hair approached us.

"Agent Romanoff. Captain Rogers." Agent Coulson said.

"Ma'am." I greeted the woman.

"Hi." She greeted back before turning to Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face trace."

"See you there." Agent Coulson walked away leaving me with Agent Romanoff. Romanoff started walking somewhere so I just followed her.

"There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" She was smirking.

"Trading cards?" I asked her amused.

"They're vintage, he's very proud." She just shrugged. Not far from where we were standing, a man was looking every where because he seemed lost and out of place.

"Dr. Banner." I called and a flash of recognition came across his face. He came closer and took my extended hand and shook it.

"Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming."

"Word is you can find the cube."

"Is that the only word on me?" He looked at the sides a bit tense.

"Only word I care about."

"Must be strange for you, all of this." Banner gestured the place.

"Well, this is actually kind of familiar." We were about to roam around when Romanoff stopped us.

"Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breath."

This so called Helicarrier started shaking while the roaring of engines could be heard. This thing was preparing to sail.

"Is this is a submarine?"

"Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" Both Bruce and I moved closer to the edge of the Helicarrier. Suddenly, a big turbine rose from the water and the Helicarrier then started to lift into the air.

"Oh, no. This is much worse." Bruce muttered and all I could do was to stare in awe at what was in front of me.

Agent Romanoff then led us inside and we walked through a bridge before entering a room. I couldn't help but be awestruck at the sight before me. All of the things before me were nothing that I have seen before. I couldn't help but gaze at my surroundings with a smile on my face. Every corner of the room was filled with high technologies and advanced equipment and machinery.

"Gentlemen." Fury turned to us. I had to admit I lost the bet. Walking towards Fury, I gave him 10 bucks while I kept on looking at the technology in front of me. I then roamed around the place before standing near the agents who were doing the face trace. Coulson then stood beside me while I just crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for any result.

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble."

"No, no. It's fine."

"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint, slight foxing around the edges, but..." Coulson was cut off by the shout of an agent.

"We got a hit. Sixty seven percent match. Wait, cross match, seventy nine percent."

"Location?" Coulson asked, going near the agent.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding."

"Captain, you're up." Fury looked at me in the eye and then, he suddenly looked around the place as if he was looking for someone. He then groaned in annoyance. "Where the hell is Hunt?!" He yelled.

Everybody in the room paused at what they were doing for a while. Each person looked at one another, not knowing how to answer Fury. Suddenly, a man with dark brown hair stood up.

"Sir, I know where Hunt might be." He didn't flinch under Fury's annoyed look.

"Williams, find Hunt now."

"Yes, sir." The man immediately left, looking for this "Agent Hunt".

Once again, my curiosity got the best of me. I found it interesting how everyone just acted like that just now. Who exactly was Agent Hunt? What I didn't know was that this Agent Hunt was the certain brunette, who I couldn't stop thinking about since meeting her in that old gym.

* * *

HAPPY HOLIDAYS GUYS! Here's a new chapter for you! I'm so sorry for not updating for a long time! I've been busy and I've been updating my other story. I kinda had a writer's block too so I'm really sorry! What do you think of this chapter? Please tell me what you think! :D See you next time~! :D


	4. Chapter 3

**Nadia**

The silence was deafening and the only sound that could be heard was the stringing of a bow. A few meters away from me stood a target. Notching another arrow, I pulled the string back and focused on my mark. Once my target was locked, I released the arrow and hit the center.

It has been quite a while since I arrived here in the target range. This was the only place in the helicarrier that I could actually calm down and think straight. There was still no clue on the Tesseract's and Loki's whereabouts, which meant that there was no lead on Clint as well. I just left for about a week and everything just went down the hill. Getting another arrow, I held it in place and pulled the bowstring.

"I knew I'd find you here!"

My concentration broke as I accidentally released the arrow, making me miss the target.

"Seriously, Carter!?" I glared at Carter who was leaning on the door's threshold. Carter's smirk was now gone and it was replaced by a serious look, sending a bad feeling in my gut.

"You need to suit up. You've already pissed Fury off."

My posture quickly straightened as I gave him a hopeful look and muttered, "They found him."

"Not him. Loki. But, I bet Clint is with him." After hearing Carter say this, I quickly turned into my assassin mode.

"Time to get ready then."

I had been itching to get a hold of that bastard. Nothing would stop me from getting my friend back even if I had to tear that so-called god of mischief apart.

"Hey." Carter stopped me in my tracks, making me turn to him. "Be careful out there, will you? I don't want to see you beat up when you get back."

After Ethan died, this had been a thing for Carter since I came back in a fatal condition from a mission. I playfully rolled my eyes and smiled at Carter as he gave me a serious look.

"Yes, mother."

His brows knitted and he said, "I'm serious, Nadia."

"I will. I promise I will." I chuckled at Carter and he finally gave me a small smile. "See you later, Carter."

Before I got any farther, a smile made its way on my face when Carter muttered in a low voice, "Yeah."

The smile didn't last long because of the matter at hand. After reaching my room, I quickly went to change into my uniform and strapped my bow and quiver, placing them behind my right shoulder. Each of my thighs had five knives in their holsters and two batons were placed beside the last knives on each thigh.

Now, I was ready. It was time to get Clint back and kick that bastard's ass. I quickly went to where the quinjet was located and I was greeted by one of my good friends. Natasha was seated on the pilot's seat, prepping the quinjet.

"Nice to finally see you back." Tasha smiled at me. These were one of those times that she actually showed her emotions.

"Well, I took a week off and everything just went down the drain." I heaved a sigh.

She then smirked at me and said, "You do know you pissed Fury off just now, right?"

"Carter told me. Besides, karma just bit him in the ass for cutting my vacation short." I returned a smirk of own and shrugged my shoulders as Tasha's smirk grew bigger. My smirk was now gone as I asked, "Are you okay?"

Tasha only gave me the same look I was giving her and answered, "Are you?"

"We're gonna get him back." I looked at Tasha in the eye with that burning determination to bring our friend back.

She then looked pass me before turning back to the quinjet's yoke, preparing for take off.

"Time to go."

Our conversation was cut short when footsteps echoed in the jet. Turning to the source, I was faced with the world's first avenger. A smirk made its way on my face as Captain America looked at me with shock written all over his face.

"It's you."

My smirk only grew bigger as I said, "It looks like your prayers have been granted after all, Steve. Or should I say Captain America?"

"Why are you here?" His eyes widened in realization and he quickly corrected, "Not that I don't want you here because I do. I wanted to see you again… uhh… Never mind…" Cap was as red as a tomato again.

All I could do was hide my shock behind the blank expression I was giving him. Why the hell would he even want to see me when we barely knew each other? From the corner of my eyes, Tasha was also watching this with amused yet curious eyes. She was definitely going to drag Carter and interrogate me later on with him.

"Forget it. No need to get all worked up, Cap." Apparently, that just got him more embarrassed than he already was, seeing as his cheeks were now a darker shade of red.

"To answer you, I'm pretty sure you've already seen my empty file." I smirked at his confused expression until it changed in a shocked one.

"Raven." He looked at me with wide eyes. "You're Agent Hunt?"

"Is it really that shocking?" I raised a brow at him, getting him all flustered again.

"I thought Agent Hunt was a he. I'm sorry, ma'am! Uh, I didn't mean to offend you by saying you're a man because you're far from that. You're a beautiful dame." Realizing what he said, He quickly corrected, "Not a dame. A woman. A beautiful woman… I should stop talking…" He flushed again from embarrassment. Raising my brow, I had to admit this was somewhat entertaining.

"Don't worry, Cap. You'll have a chance to redeem yourself later on." I smirked at his red face.

He cleared his throat and said, "Umm… May I please know your name now, ma'am?"

I slyly smiled at him before saying, "Maybe. I did say I might tell you when we see each other again."

A smile slowly made its way on his face but before he could say anything, Tasha announced, "Get ready, lovebirds. We're here."

I narrowed my eyes at Tasha as she gave me one of her infamous smirks. Looking outside the windows, my target was locked. Loki and his mirror images stood above everyone else as they knelt before him.

The real one then laughed like a maniac and said, "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation." He walked towards the center as he continued his petty speech, "The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

As we were waiting for the right moment to show up, an elderly man then courageously stood up and refused to kneel.

"Not to men like you."

"There are no men like me." Loki smirked evilly.

"There are always men like you." The man merely glared at him.

"Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example." Loki raised his glowing scepter, pointing it at the elderly man.

Steve quickly jumped out of the quinjet, landing in front of the man just in time to block Loki's attack with his shield. Loki was knocked down and he then quickly looked up, glaring at his attacker.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing." Steve slowly walked towards Loki.

"Tasha, I'm moving out!" Without waiting for a reply, I roped down the jet and readied my bow while approaching the scene.

"The soldier." Standing up, Loki sinisterly laughed before saying, "A man out of time."

"I'm not the one who's out of time."

The quinjet appeared with a machine gun pointed at Loki. Tasha's voice then rang in the area, "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."

Loki sent a blast of blue light towards the quinjet and thankfully, Tasha maneuvered it away just in time, successfully dodging the attack. Steve took this opening and threw his shield at Loki. He punched Loki in the face but the latter seemed like he wasn't even affected by it. I notched an arrow and tried to aim it at Loki but in doing that I might hit Cap.

Loki then tried to hit Steve but the soldier was able to block it. In his second attempt, he was able to hit Cap in the stomach, sending the latter a few meters away from him. Taking this chance, I released the arrow but Loki blocked it. Loki charged towards me while blocking the arrows that I shot him with.

He tried to hit me with his scepter but I blocked it with my bow. I then pushed the scepter away and punched his face but it apparently didn't do much damage. He then swiped his scepter, aiming for my head. Ducking down, I brought my bow up and used it to hit Loki in the face before kicking his stomach, knocking him away from me.

"Raven, duck!" Cap shouted and shortly after I followed, his shield was flung towards Loki who was already up and ready to charge at us.

Loki swatted it away while Steve proceeded to attack him. Charging at Loki as well, I tried to kick him but he dodged it and hit my stomach with his scepter. Steve continued to fight the god of mischief as I hit the ground, groaning in pain. Their brawl didn't last long because Steve got hit on his back, knocking him down.

Standing over Cap, Loki pointed the scepter's base on his helmet and ordered, "Kneel."

Sharing a knowing look with Cap, I shot another arrow but Loki caught it and then smirked at me.

"Did you honestly-" He didn't even finish his sentence because the arrow exploded in front of his face.

I smirked and said, "You were saying?"

"Not today!" Steve flipped and kicked Loki's head, knocking him away. He charged at Loki again but the bastard got the upper hand and flipped him over.

All of a sudden, AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill" started playing, making a smile appear on my face. Uncle flew over to us and shot Loki with his blasters, knocking the latter off of his feet. After landing on one knee, he stood up and pulled out the hidden weapons in his suit, ready to knock Loki out again.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games."

I walked closer to uncle and Cap as Loki held his hands up in surrender, removing his armor in the process.

Putting away all of his weapons, uncle then said, "Good move."

"Mr. Stark." Cap greeted while trying to catch his breath.

"Captain." Uncle nodded his head at him before turning to me. "Nadia."

"Uncle." I heaved a sigh while putting my bow away. The tone of his voice just hinted me that I was in for some nagging later on.

~~~~~X~~~~~

It has been a while since we put Loki under control and captured him. We were now on our way to Shield and it was eerily quiet. I didn't like any of this. My gut told me that something was wrong and it was sending a bad feeling in my stomach. It was just too easy. He just gave up so easily and considering the fact that the person we were dealing with was the god of mischief, that was not possible. Loki just wouldn't give up so easily.

"Said anything?" Fury said through the radio communicator.

"Not a word." Tasha answered while sharing a knowing look with me.

"Just get him here. We're low on time."

"Yes sir." I replied before standing up and going to my uncle and Cap.

"Young lady, we need to talk." Uncle gave me a stern look. Oh boy. It was starting. "We were supposed to celebrate and you ditched it."

Wait, what? Tilting my head in confusion, I thought he was going to scold me for pushing myself too hard again but that clearly wasn't the issue here. We were supposed to celebrate something?

"We were?"

Uncle then narrowed his eyes and said, "Now, you even forgot. I'm hurt, Nadia."

He gave me a hurt look but I knew he was just guilt-tripping me. It wasn't working though because I really didn't have a clue of what he was talking about.

"Seriously?" He then gave me a blank expression and finally gave up with the hints. "Nadia, we were supposed to celebrate making Stark tower a beacon of of self sustaining clean energy."

"Oh…"

Uncle then frowned at me and said, "That's the only thing you're gonna say?"

"It slipped from my mind… I'm sorry." I smiled nervously.

"Slipped your mind?" He gave me an exasperated look. "You, Pepper and I were supposed to enjoy this celebration but you DITCHED us." This time he emphasized the last part. He was definitely guilt-tripping me but it wasn't working as effectively as before.

"Well uncle, if by celebration you mean watching you and Pepper suck each others faces, I'd rather not." There was stifled sniggers coming from Cap but it stopped when uncle gave him a look.

"For your information, we were enjoying the moment without any of your implications." Uncle tried to defend himself, making a smirk appear on my face. This was not working on me again. I already had too much tainted memories of them doing that in front of me.

"Sure…" Smirking, I playfully rolled my eyes and sarcastically said, "I'm sure both of you didn't enjoy it without me."

"Don't you sass me, young lady." He answered back, knowing that it was true and he couldn't argue with that. My amused smirk didn't last long because I noticed that Cap was staring intently at Loki.

"You're staring again." I turned to Cap, making him glance at me.

Steve turned back to Loki before whispering, "I don't like it."

"What?" Uncle raised a brow at him. "Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it being ever that easy. This guy packs a wallop."

"Well, you're not alone in that. Something's wrong." I spared him a glance before observing Loki again.

"Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow." Tony turned to Steve, who was just looking confused. "What's your thing? Pilates?"

"What?" Cap asked with knitted brows, looking at me and uncle back and forth.

"It's like calisthenics." Hearing me say this, Steve nodded somewhat understanding it.

Uncle then shrugged and continued, "You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle."

I wanted to slap a palm on my forehead. He never changed. This was why so much people were pissed at him.

"Uncle." I frowned at him but he only shrugged his shoulders and replied, "What?"

Steve slightly glared at him before saying, "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Uncle added, which was something I had to agree with him.

The quinjet then shook violently after nearly being hit by lighting. What the hell? It was perfectly clear a while ago.

"Where's this coming from?" Tasha muttered and looked outside the window as another thunder rumbled.

Loki intently stared out of the window with a hint of fear and caution in his eyes. That was when I knew this was not normal.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Steve mocked Loki.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." The god of mischief returned to looking outside of the window. Something was definitely wrong. All of a sudden, the jet shook violently after something hit the roof. Uncle and Steve quickly put their helmets on while I took my bow out. Pushing a button, Uncle opened the ramp of the quinjet and walked towards it.

"What are you doing?"

Ignoring Steve, he then continued walking towards the ramp. To say that I wasn't surprised was an understatement. A man suddenly dropped onto the ramp and hit uncle with his hammer after seeing him getting ready to attack. Uncle was thrown near the cockpit, hitting Steve in the process. The man then grabbed Loki by the throat and flew out of the jet.

"Now there's that guy." Uncle stood up, looking at the open ramp.

"Another Asgardian?" Tasha yelled over the cockpit.

"It's Thor, Loki's adoptive brother." I said, making Steve and uncle look at me.

"Think the guy's a friendly?" Steve stood up while wincing in pain.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." Uncle turned around and walked towards the ramp, getting ready to chase after Thor and Loki.

"Uncle, wait!"

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve yelled.

"I have a plan. Attack." Uncle then jumped out of the jet, chasing after Thor and Loki. Cap sighed in frustration and quickly grabbed a parachute.

I huffed in annoyance before saying, "I'd sit this one out, Cap."

"I don't see how I can." He continued to put the parachute on.

"These guys come from legends. They're basically gods." Tasha explained but apparently, it just went in to Cap's deaf ears.

"There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Steve quickly took his shield and jumped out of the jet.

Glaring at where those two jumped out, I pushed the button to close the ramp and hissed, "Men."

Tasha chuckled as I sat beside her on the co-pilot seat, glaring at the scenery outside.

"So, I'm curious. How did you and Cap meet?" Tasha asked without taking her eyes off of her task.

"No, Tasha."

"What? It's just an innocent question. Clearly, it wasn't the first time he met you."

"I know what you're doing, Tasha. And, we're not going there. Don't even think of dragging Carter with you either." I heaved another sigh.

"Something is cooking between you two."

I looked at her with knitted brows and said, "Nothing is cooking. Rogers is just a colleague."

"But not for him. He's interested in you, sees you differently from any people in this era."

"You're just imagining it."

"And, you're avoiding it." Tasha spared me a glance and sighed, "Come on, Nadia. You're not an idiot. I'm sure you noticed it too."

There was nothing I could say to rebut that. No matter what I say, Tasha would still be sure that I knew it. She knew me well after all.

"Steve is different, that I can tell. Start living your life, Nadia. Maybe this is a sign. For you to be given another shot at happiness. A second chance." Slightly turning to me, she then continued, "So, why not take it?"

She knew the reason why I couldn't. It was him, Ethan. After looking at me in the eye, she gave me a sympathetic smile. I knew why. Every single pain, sorrow and regret was reflected in my eyes. The eyes were windows to the soul after all.

"I don't think I ever can."

Not when my demons were ripping me inside out.

* * *

HI GUYS! I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN A VERY LONG TIME! HUHUH! :( I got writer's block so I decided to write my other story first because it's my main focus. I'm not sure if this was good enough so feel free to tell me what you think about it. It will be very much appreciated because it will help me improve on some stuff in the story. I had fun in writing this and I got inspired when I watched Civil War (It was awesome!). Anyways, I couldn't find a holster that fit the one in my imagination. That was the closest I could find so I'm sorry! I also couldn't find an actor that would fit Carter perfectly in my imagination. Nathaniel Buzolic was the closest I could find. Huhuhuh! :( But, I like him though. So yeah, until next time~~! ;) :D

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 **PS: I'm going to alternate in updating my stories so I'm gonna update this again after updating my other fanfic (The Wheels of Fate). Please bear with me!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Nadia**

Shortly after bringing Loki in, Fury quickly went down to business and interrogated him. The members of the Avengers initiative were currently in the briefing room, watching the ongoing interrogation through a monitor.

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass." Fury pressed a button, opening the hatch underneath the glass cell Loki was in. Loki went towards the edge and peered at the hatch.

"Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" Fury yelled as he pressed the button, closing the hatch. "Ant." He pointed at Loki before pointing at a button and saying, "Boot."

The god of mischief merely laughed and said, "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh, I've heard." Loki smirked evilly and turned to the camera. "The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man."

Judging based from what he said, something was definitely strange about him. I glanced at Dr. Banner who tensed while watching this. My attention was again diverted back to the monitor when I heard Loki speak.

"How desperate are you? You call on these lost creatures to defend you."

"How desperate am I?" Fury glared at the god of mischief and continued, "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooh. It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what?" Loki had a sinister smile on his face as he spoke, "A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."

"Yeah, well, you let me know if real power wants a magazine or something." Fury then left the cell before the monitor turned off.

Dr. Banner was the first one to break the silence and say, "He really grows on you, doesn't he?"

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" Cap looked at the said god who seemed to be in deep thought.

"He has an army called the Chitauri, that none of Asgard nor any world know." Thor turned to us and explained further, "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. Return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army, from outer space?" Cap turned to me.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Apparently…"

"So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Dr. Banner pointed out.

"Selvig?" Thor asked with knitted brows.

"He's an astrophysicist." Dr. Banner answered him.

"He's a friend."

"Loki has him under some kind of spell." I looked at the Thor.

Tasha had her head down as she muttered, "Along with one of ours."

I gave a sympathetic look to Tasha as she nodded, telling me she was okay. This made my heart sink. Clint was still missing and he was still one of Loki's compelled minions.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." Steve said, looking at all of us.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. Something's shady about him." I heaved a sigh.

Dr. Banner nodded while saying, "She's right. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him."

Thor merely gave us a look before saying, "Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days." Tasha emphasized.

The god of thunder paused and sighed, "He's adopted."

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?" Banner asked to no one in particular.

"It's a stabilizing agent." I answered together with a very familiar voice, making a smile appear on my face.

He really had the best timing when it came to these things. Uncle walked in with Phil as they discussed about something. He said something to Phil again before heading towards us.

"Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD." Uncle then turned to Thor before patting his shoulder and saying, "No hard feelings Point Break, you've got a mean swing."

"Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants." Uncle walked towards the monitors before ordering the agents, "Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails."

The agents merely gave him strange looks before they continued what they were doing. Pointing at the side, Uncle Tony suddenly yelled, "That man is playing Gallaga!"

I looked at where he pointed and my expression quickly turned blank. Seriously, Carter? Carter just smiled nervously at me and shrugged his shoulders as I gave him a stern look.

This time I narrowed my eyes at him and he finally got my message that I would kick his ass if he wouldn't stop lazing around. Holding his hands up in surrender, Carter shot me one last nervous smile before returning his gaze to the monitor and avoiding the threatening looks I was giving him.

"Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." Uncle then looked at the monitors before raising one hand and covering one of his eyes. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." Maria bluntly answered.

"Sounds exhausting." He scoffed before changing a few things in the monitors. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria crossed her arms over her chest.

"Last night." Uncle merely shrugged his shoulders, making me want to laugh. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked.

As I pondered upon this, I tried to figure it out while saying, "He would have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

Steve looked at me stunned while my uncle stared at me with that familiar mirth in his eyes.

I shrugged my shoulders and smirked, "I read the notes."

Smiling as he shook his head, uncle then said, "Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."

"Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet." Banner finally realized it as well.

"Finally, someone who speaks English besides me and Nadia." Uncle walked towards Banner and shook his hand. A smirk made its way on my face as I watched this in amusement. Uncle Tony just found himself his science bro.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked as he turned to me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Apparently." My smirk grew bigger while I shrugged my shoulders and stood up to greet the doctor as well.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Hearing this, I quickly elbowed him in his side as he gave me a look.

"Ouch!" Uncle rubbed his sore muscle and said, "Nadia!"

The others just watched us, entertained by how me and uncle interacted.

I rolled my eyes at him and bluntly answered, "That was rude." Ignoring my uncle's glares, I turned to Banner, who had a small amused smile on his face, and extended my hand. "I'm Nadia Hunt. It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Banner."

"The pleasure is all mine." Banner then shook my hand.

"Dr. Banner, I apologize in advance that you have to deal with my uncle until this mess is fixed. He can be quite… annoying." I smiled at him as he laughed.

There were also quiet sniggers coming from the rest of the Avengers. Steve was smiling at me with pure interest dancing in his eyes, making me quite confused. What the hell? Why would he do that? Uncle caught my attention again.

"Nadia, I'm your beloved uncle!" Uncle Tony gave me a look of disbelief, making me smirk.

"Yes, you are. But, sometimes I wonder if you're really older than me." I slyly smiled at him while he just looked at me in shock. The others couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter.

"Thank you, my darling niece." He rolled his eyes and mockingly put a hand on his heart. "You are so sweet. I felt your love for me."

I softly chuckled at this but then, this fun was cut short when Fury came in. Everyone stopped snickering and turned serious again.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him." Fury told my uncle.

"Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon." Steve mentioned.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor furrowed his brows while looking at us.

"I do!" Steve excitedly said. There was a slight awkward silence after as he continued, "I understood that reference." He quickly blushed out of embarrassment when he noticed the amused smirk I was giving him.

Uncle rolled his eyes at the super soldier before turning to Banner again, "Shall we play, doctor?"

"Let's play some." Banner then led him out of the room and to the lab.

"Hunt." Fury called my attention. "A word?"

I looked at him with furrowed brows and noticed Cap did as well. Something was up and I had a good guess of what he wanted to talk about. Fury led us to the part of the briefing room with more privacy

"You want me to go in there, don't you?" I asked him.

"I have this feeling that he's the only one who wants to be in this ship."

"Well, you're not alone in that. He's very fishy."

"That god of mischief is up to something and I want you to dig it up." Fury gave me a serious look. "Get something out of him. Anything."

"Copy that, boss." I then left the room with one thing in mind. Complete my mission: Get anything out of that bastard.

Unknown to me, a certain super soldier has been watching my actions out of curiosity since Fury asked to speak with me.

~~~~~X~~~~~

A few minutes has passed since I arrived here at the cell where Loki was being held. I had been observing the god as he roamed around his cell. Something was definitely sketchy. This time I finally made my presence known, making Loki stop in his tracks.

"There's not many people who can sneak up on me." The god of mischief turned to me with a smirk on his face.

"But, you figured I'd come." I walked closer to the cell.

"After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And, I would cooperate." He still had that annoying smirk on his face.

Ignoring whatever he said, I bluntly asked, "What have you done to Barton?"

"I'd say I've expanded his mind."

"And, once you've won. Once you're king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

Loki's smirk just grew bigger as he said, "Is this love, Agent Hunt?"

"Barton is my mentor. I owe him many debts."

"Tell me." He walked towards the bench and sat on it.

Sitting on a nearby chair, I pretended to be troubled before starting, "Barton helped me become the person who I am today. Trained me to be one of SHIELD's best agents. On one certain mission, there was a complication and things didn't go the way me and my partner wanted. Agent Barton along with others came to our rescue but there was still a casualty."

Even though I kept a blank face, it was hard for me to talk about this. I didn't want to reminisce this nightmare.

I heaved another sigh, "Something was taken from me and I became different after that. Became distant and miserable. Barton reminded me of the things that was slowly slipping through my fingers because I couldn't pull myself together. He pulled me out of the dark and gave me hope- a reason to keep pushing."

"And, what will you do if I vow to spare him?"

"Not let you out." I frankly answered.

"Ah, no." He smirked. "But I like this. Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?"

"Regime's fall everyday. That's life. Things come and go. I tend not to weep over that." I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.

"And, what are you now?"

"It's really not that complicated." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I've got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out."

"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red?" This time Loki smirked evilly at me. "The murder of Michael and Andrea Hunt? Mission in Bulgaria? And lastly, Ethan Harper?"

My face was void of any emotion but I was shocked on the inside. How the hell did he know any of this?

"Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?"

Loki stood up and walked towards me before continuing, "This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer. Pathetic! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away." He then slammed his fist onto the glass, making me flinch.

"I won't barter Barton! Not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. Let you feel how weak and helpless you are like how you were when you lost your beloved. And then, he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams I'll split his skull!"

"This is my bargain, you mewling quim!" He sneered while I now held nothing but anger.

Slowly standing up, I walked closer to the cell and sneered, "You're lucky. You're inside this cell. Because once I get the chance, I will put an arrow right through your head." I glared menacingly at the god of mischief and continued, "I don't care if you're a god or the devil himself. I will tear you apart limb by limb and make your life a living hell. You monster!"

Loki merely laughed wickedly and said, "Oh, no. You brought the monster."

Bingo. Suddenly, all of the emotion on my face was gone as a sly smirk appeared on my face. "So, Banner? That's your play?"

"What?" Loki was now looking at me in confusion.

I walked towards the exit while talking into my earpiece, "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Tell Romanoff to discreetly keep an eye on Banner until he finds the cube. If things go wrong, send Thor as well."

Looking back at Loki one last time, I smirked again, "Thank you, for your cooperation."

I then walked out of the cell, leaving a very confused god of mischief. My job was done but I could still feel this negative feeling inside of me. I needed to get it out. I was compromised.

Without me knowing it, there was a set of eyes watching my fleeting figure with worry as I walked towards the only place I could let it all out.

* * *

HI GUYS! I'M SO SORRY, IT TOOK A WHILE! HUHUH! BUT HERE'S A NEW CHAPTER FOR YOU! Thank you for the follows and favorites! I'm so happy! :D :) I know that interrogation with Loki doesn't happen until later but I changed it. I changed the sequence of events and twisted parts of the movie to fit the idea that I had in mind. I promise it will all make sense soon. So, please bear with me. Please drop me a review. :) I will really appreciate it because I don't know if this is going well. Until next time~~! :D


	6. Chapter 5

**Nadia**

The punching bag swayed violently after receiving another harsh punch from me. It has been an hour since that interrogation with Loki ended. After completing my mission, I made a beeline for the only place that I could let everything loose. You could say that the poor punching bag has been suffering the consequences of my wrath since then.

Loki's words affected me in more ways than one. They wouldn't leave me alone but I wanted them gone. Every word that Loki said still rang perfectly in my ears. Because of that, my mind was constantly reliving memories of my past that I desperately tried to forget.

"What made you wanna kill the bag this time?" A very familiar voice broke me out of my concentration. Amusement was practically dripping in his voice.

Without taking my eyes off of the bag, I sent another punch to the bag. "I'm not in the mood, Carter."

"I knew I'd find you here." His footsteps echoed louder in the training room. "Figured Fury made you do it."

I quickly tensed after hearing the next words that came out of his lips.

"I heard everything."

"I don't wanna talk about it." A loud thud reverberated as the punching bag received a harsh kick from me.

Carter ignored me and sat on the bench near my punching bag. "Of course you do."

I stopped beating the hell out of the bag and turned to him, who looked at me directly in the eye with all of that seriousness in them.

"Come on, Nadia. Talk to me." He pleaded, making me heave a sigh.

After hearing and seeing all of that, of course, he knew that something was wrong with me. He was my best friend after all. He knew me like the back of his hand. Carter would never leave me alone until I spilled my guts out.

I slowly sat beside Carter, feeling defeated. "I was compromised."

Carter didn't say anything at all and just listened to the next words that I was about to say. Leaning forward, I rested both of my elbows on my knees and placed my palms on my forehead. "He knows about everything, Carter."

"Bulgaria, my parents, and…" I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked at him as my tears threatened to spill. "Ethan."

Carter's eyes softened as he looked at me with a hint of sadness and sympathy in his eyes.

"I was so sure of myself. I was even eager to do this interrogation that Fury passed to me. Because it meant I could get the answer that I wanted and find Clint faster," I said while feeling Carter's hand grip mine for my reassurance.

"It was supposed to be one of those interrogations. Play with my target's mind, turn the tables on him, and get the info. Then, my mission was done. SHIELD trained me to be like that. A stone cold agent who does whatever it takes to finish her mission."

Carter gripped my hand tighter, telling me that he knew what I meant. Of course, he would know. After all, we looked after each other's back all throughout our years here in SHIELD.

"I let my guard down. Let my emotions get the best of me." I closed my eyes, trying to forget the things that happened there. "He got inside of my head. His words won't stop echoing in my ears. For a second, I doubted myself. He was right. My ledger was gushing red."

I sighed and tried my best to fight my tears back. "After what happened, every time I hear those words it just brings up these horrid memories. Everything I tried to forget just won't stop haunting me." This time I couldn't hold them back. Tears ran down my cheeks as a sob escaped my lips.

"It's almost been two years, Carter. This weight on my shoulders won't go away. This hole in my heart won't close. My memories of Ethan, they're still so vivid. They torture me every time even haunting me in my sleep. One second I was dreaming of spending the rest of my life with him and then the next, he was ripped away from my arms," I managed to say between my sobs as Carter's grip on my hand didn't loosen at all.

Turning to him, I exclaimed, "Will it ever stop? It's driving me insane. I can't take this anymore. Carter, it hurts so much. Make it stop. Please make it stop!"

Carter quickly let go of my hand and engulfed me in a comforting embrace. "Shh… It's okay, Nadia. I'm here."

"Everything will be okay," he softly whispered while gently petting my head.

He then slowly pulled away from me and cupped my cheeks with his hands. Tears continued to stain my face as I cried. Carter gently looked at me in the eye and wiped my tears with his thumbs. A gentle smile made its way on his face. "You'll be okay. You wanna know why?"

I tilted my head out of confusion while looking at him with knitted brows.

"Because you're a very strong and independent woman." His lips then quirked up into a goofy smile. "Heck, you're Nadia Hunt! You're like a crazy Amazon when you chase me around to kick my ass for playing Galaga and not doing my work."

A small smile appeared on my face as I let out a small laugh. "No, I'm not."

He raised a brow and smirked before saying, "Yes, you are. There was this one time you chased me around the base and you didn't stop until you punched me on my arm, twice. Then, it bruised the next day."

I laughed harder after hearing this. I remembered that time and it was really funny remembering Carter's face at that time.

"It's not funny, Nadia. It really hurt you know!" He playfully narrowed his eyes at me, giving me a weak shove.

"You deserved it." I ignored it and continued to laugh.

He mockingly rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks, Nadia."

My stomach really hurt right now. Too much laughing. Leave it to Carter to make me laugh too much when I was already bawling my eyes out.

Carter gave me a gentle smile. "You've already made it this far, Nads. No matter how much crap came to our lives, you still managed to get through all of that. That's why I know you'll be fine." He then took my hands again.

"Trust me when I say things will get better. One of these days or probably sometime soon, things will just change for the better and you will finally find the happiness you deserve. Trust me."

I didn't know why but I was holding on to these words right now. My gut was telling me to do so for some weird reasons. It just felt right.

A smile made its way on my face as I said, "Since when did you give such good advice? It's even cheesy."

"I don't know whether I should be offended or not." He gave me a poker-face, making me chuckle.

"Hey! I was complimenting you!"

He snorted and drawled, "Sure…"

"You jerk!" I playfully shoved him.

"You love this jerk though." He wiggled his brows, making me bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"Sure." I teasingly smirked at him. "Keep telling yourself that."

"Stop denying it, Nads. You know you love me."

I laughed and shrugged my shoulders. "Well, if that's what you believe, Carter. I'll let it feed your ego."

His jaw quickly dropped. "Hey! I'm not egotistical."

"Whatever you say." I teased him.

"I feel so attacked right now." He looked at me with mock hurt.

"Poor little Carter!" I patted his head. "There, there."

He looked at me horrified and pointed his finger at me. "No! Don't you dare imitate Nana!"

"I'm not even trying!" A hearty laugh escaped my lips. "Stop pointing your finger at me! It's rude!"

"I'm not putting it down until you stop!"

"Okay, okay!" Chuckling, I wrapped my arms around his torso and leaned my head on his shoulders. "Happy?"

"Thank you!" He then wrapped his arms around me.

I giggled as the smile never left my face. "Thank you, Carter."

"You're welcome, bestie." Carter placed a soft kiss on my head. "By the way…"

"Hmm?"

"I always give the best advice." He said with a sense of pride dripping in his voice.

I rolled my eyes and laughed to my heart's content. Thank you so much, Carter. For everything.

* * *

 **Steve**

Why did I stay behind to hear all of these? I didn't even know the answer to that. A few minutes ago, I decided to go to the training room to forget about certain things. When I got here, I couldn't bring myself to enter.

Standing near the door, I just heard the woman, who intrigued me the most, spill all of her sorrows out to her friend. My gut was right when I felt that something was wrong with her. Her smiles and laughter just lacked that genuine feeling in it. Those emotions in her eyes always made me wonder what exactly happened to her. Now, I knew why.

This cruel reality left this woman broken. The first time I looked at her, her bright hazel eyes let me have a peek of all the demons she was hiding. She had the eyes of someone who went through hell and back. It was no wonder that she built these walls around her. It was easier to just shut everything out than to go through the same pain all over again.

Then, I remembered that one name that made her break down – Ethan. Who was he? Clearly, he meant the world to her after seeing her pour her sorrows out. All I could gather was that they were together and something happened. What exactly happened to him?

Something snapped me out of my thoughts as a small smile crept on my face. This was the first time that I heard her carefree and genuine laugh. It was different from all of the emotions that she showed me before.

Then, I remember something. I finally found out her name when Stark called her. Nothing could seem to get her out of my head. Her name kept on ringing in my ears – Nadia Hunt. It suited her perfectly. Since I met her in that old gym, she has been the center of my thoughts. No matter how I tried, she was just really intriguing me. Something in her just made me want to know her more.

Wait, this wasn't right. We were in the middle of a war and here I was thinking about a girl I hardly know. Then, it hit me. Wait, was I actually interested in Nadia? Attracted even? I didn't know the answer to that. Why was I even so interested in her?

 _No, Steve._ I quickly shook my head.

Stop thinking about this – about her. This was just confusing me. I needed to think straight and forget about this for now. Walking away from the training room, I decided to walk aimlessly in the helicarrier in hopes of distracting myself. Or rather in hopes of burying this unknown feeling of mine.

* * *

Hi guys! I'M SO SORRY, IT TOOK FOR NOT UPDATING IN SUCH A LONG TIME! BUT HERE'S A NEW CHAPTER FOR YOU! I finally have time to write again. :( I finished writing the rest of the chapters for the Avengers movie. So, I promise I'll post another chapter again soon but I want to some feedback first before posting them. Please drop me a review. :) Until next time~~! :D


	7. Chapter 6

**Nadia**

It was five in the morning and I was staring blanking at my room's ceiling – wide awake. Memories of my past were still bothering me in my sleep and it wasn't just them. The incoming war was also preventing me from sleeping because my gut keeps on telling me that there was just something amiss about this whole thing. As I tried to think all of this over, it just wasn't adding and rather than answers, more questions just kept on popping up. Another frustrated sigh escaped my lips. This was no use and lying here on this bed was just making it worse.

I should just get up because clearly, I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep anyway. Carter and I were going to spar together soon anyways. Better go early then. Standing up, I changed into some comfortable workout clothes. On my way to the training room, I pondered upon what happened yesterday in that place.

I was really grateful to Carter for what he did for me. It felt nice to just for once forget about everything and laugh to your heart's content. At least, some of the weight on my shoulders was lifted and it really felt good.

A loud thud snapped me out of my thoughts as I noticed the light coming out from the training room. Who on earth would be awake this early in the morning? With my curiosity getting the best of me, I walked into the room and it surprised me to see that familiar man up so early just to blow off some steam.

Steve was punching a bag like there was no tomorrow and it seemed like he hasn't been here that long, judging from how sweaty he was. As I watched him land another punch at the poor bag, something in him caught my attention. His eyes reflected all of those things that he tried to bury – all the pain and sadness.

Not taking my eyes off of the super soldier, I saw myself in him. Every time we vented out our feelings, we constantly relived the memories that we desperately tried to forget. All of these memories that haunted us flashed before us whenever we land a punch and everything was there – the pain, regret, sorrow and most of all anger.

Steve punched the bag again, causing it to sway violently. He looked at the bag like it was the only way that he could forget about everything else and be in his own world. His eyes reflected everything. They showed me just how broken this man was.

To be honest, it shouldn't even come as a surprise to me, because I couldn't even imagine myself if I stood in his shoes. Waking up seventy years later, only to be told that you lost everything you once had and knew. It was a mystery to me how he still wasn't breaking down because if it were me, it would have driven me insane by now. It seemed that he had enough because he punched the bag one last time, causing it to break and fly across the room.

I then decided to let my presence known. "Never thought anyone would be up this early in the morning."

Steve quickly snapped his head towards me, looking quite surprised to see me. Only did I notice now that he looked quite tired, probably from lack of sleep. He wiped some sweat from his forehead and said, "Me neither. I'm surprised to see you up so early to punch a bag."

"Force of habit. You?" I shrugged my shoulders but Steve gave me a look that told me he wasn't convinced at my lame excuse of being awake at the moment.

"Can't sleep." He slowly took the bottle on top of the bench and drank from it. I knew it. It was bothering him and it just made me more curious. Something in him was intriguing me so much. Tilting my head to the side, I looked at him with knitted brows.

Before I could even stop myself, I blurted out the thought that was running through my head. "Something bothering you."

He looked at me with slightly wide eyes. Then, the next words that came out from his lips surprised me and made me tense. "Yeah… I can tell it's the same for you."

Heaving a sigh, I said, "Let me guess. Nightmares."

"They just won't go away." He blankly stared at the wall, which made me think that he was having another flashback. I knew exactly what that felt like and I could empathize with him in a way.

"They won't go away because they're part of you." I wrapped my arms around myself. "Memories of the past."

"But, one can hope, right?" He tiredly slumped on the bench.

"We hope but we both know how it is." I sat beside him as another sigh escaped my lips. "No matter how much we try to run away, they're always gonna be there to serve as a reminder."

As he looked at me in the eye, he then finished it for me, "A reminder of all of the things that we lost and we try to forget."

"We always question why things turned out the way they did. Why us of all the people out there?" I glanced at him and paused for a moment before continuing, "Because all of those once treasured memories were now just a constant reminder of how every single thing slipped through our fingers."

"We're alike in a way." He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "The only outlet of our emotions is through feeling this physical pain of punching a bag. Somehow it just makes everything seem a little easier, a little bearable."

I knew what he meant. Losing Ethan felt like everything around me just crumbled down. I knew everyone tried to help me but nothing could express how much it hurt. The only way I knew to prevent myself from drowning in my misery was to push myself to the limit.

"In hopes of trying to keep ourselves together." I heaved another sigh as he glanced at me.

He gave me that look that I knew so well and clearly understood. Going through the same yet different thing, we understood each other somehow. None of us spoke after that and It wasn't an awkward silence. We were taking this chance to enjoy a moment of peace and silence. These were the only times that we could have a peace of mind. It felt good to talk to someone who understood you.

I didn't know why I was becoming more curious about this person and I just had this urge to ask him about certain things. Right at this moment, all that was running through my head was that my curiosity needed to be sated.

I was the first one to break the silence. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"I'm just curious." I glanced at him as he waited for my question. "How are you coping with all of these? Because I can't imagine myself being in your position."

He sighed before saying, "It's been hard since I woke up from the ice. Honestly, I feel lost. Everything was just different from how I remembered it."

"Well, seventy years is a really long time." I gave him a small smile, making him let out a short laugh.

"Yeah, it is. I just… I don't feel like I belong. Everything, I used to know, changed. Coping with everything is very challenging. I know I can get through this but it's just been really rough since waking up." Steve leaned back onto the wall and said, "Technology also improved so much and all I can say is that we don't work well together."

The way he said it made me chuckle while Steve looked at me with an amused and boyish grin gracing his face.

"It's gonna get better. Just give it time." I then remembered what he told me before. "I kinda know how that feels." Steve only gave me a confused look as I continued, "To feel like you don't really belong."

He furrowed his brows and I could tell he wanted to ask the story behind that but thank God, he didn't push it. I didn't want to spill everything again. But now that I thought about it, I kind of did already.

My train of thoughts was interrupted when Steve said, "You know, I don't really understand why you would want this line of work. You could do whatever you wanted that didn't involve any of this. You're a beautiful dame after all."

I raised a brow at him as he flushed and corrected himself, "An agent. No, no. A woman. Definitely not a dame." His eyes slightly widened after realizing what he said. "I didn't mean that! You're not ugly. Very far from that. You're very beautiful. I meant a beautiful woman. Yeah, that's what I meant. Definitely!"

The whole time he was saying that all I could do was look at him in shock. What on earth? I then pursed my lips into a thin line because this was really awkward and weird. I was having a sense of déjà vu right now and then, I remembered our talk on our way to capture Loki about a day ago. Yup, definitely. This was like 'Off to Germany: Part Two'.

"No offense but exactly when was the last time you talked to a woman?" I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing after seeing his flushed face.

"Well, this is the longest conversation I had with a woman actually." He let out a small laugh.

I then smirked at him, making him blush a darker shade of red. "I can tell."

"Well, since we're here." I stood up and faced him while he gave me a confused look. "Let's have a little sparring."

"Why?"

"Well, my friend was supposed to do it with me but apparently, that lazy bum didn't wake up again," I muttered in annoyance, making his eyes gleam with amusement, as he stifled a laugh.

Steve then shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" I raised a brow at him.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not gonna hurt me, Rogers." I walked to the center of the sparring area before turning back to him. "Besides, that's a part of it. You can look at it as a way of letting our frustrations out."

Steve was still hesitant, seeing as he remained seated on the bench. I finally got a bit impatient and narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't take no for an answer. Now get your ass off of that bench before I make you, Rogers."

His eyes widened at my actions probably because he wasn't used to modern day women, who could be quite bold and aggressive. After hearing my order, he quickly stood up without the need of further persuasion.

"Yes, ma'am!" He was quite stiff now and this was quite amusing honestly.

My face scrunched up after hearing him call me 'ma'am'. "Stop calling me ma'am. I'm not old. Besides, I'm pretty sure you know my name by now."

"Okay, ma'am." He quickly corrected that when he saw my narrowed eyes. "Nadia."

For some weird reasons, I couldn't stop myself from letting a smile appear on my face as he returned it with one of his own. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

When Steve stood in front of me, I quickly went into a stance and said, "Hit me."

His eyes were as wide as saucers again. "What?"

"I said hit me." I gave him a look, furrowing my brows.

"I'm not gonna hit you-"

"If you won't start, I will." I didn't even let him finish as I aimed a punch at his head but he quickly dodged it. Fast reflexes. Using his shock to my advantage, I sent an uppercut and he just moved away on time. A kick was sent to his stomach but he blocked it with his hands.

Steve's instincts kicked in and he quickly sent a punch to my face. Fortunately, I moved my head to the side and blocked the punch with my arm. He then took this chance and punched my stomach, making me slightly lurch forward and groan.

Steve's eyes widened in horror after realizing what he did. "Oh God! Nadia, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! That punch was a lot stronger than I intended!" He then went on and on.

With my knees slightly bent, one of my hands was placed on my knees for support as the other tried to soothe the pain on my stomach. Damn, that serum really did a work on him. That punch really hurt. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and turned to Steve, who was still frantically looking at me.

"Nadia, are you okay? Does it still hurt?"

Raising a hand up, I then answered, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I really punched you too hard. Is it still red?" He still wasn't finished, apparently. I pursed my lips into a thin line while still listening to Steve's never-ending questions and concerns. Okay, that was enough.

"Steve, you're rambling. Shut up and listen." I blankly stared at him, making him stop and stare at me. "It's okay. I'm fine, okay?"

"Oh, okay." He sent me a sheepish smile as a light tint of pink dusted his cheeks.

"That's just the start." A smirk made its way on my face as I went into stance again. "I'm gonna get my payback."

His lips then quirked up into an amused smile. "I better watch out then."

Smirking at him, I quickly charged at him and sent a hook to his right cheek. He blocked it and sent another straight punch to my face, making me push his arm to a different direction. I took this opening and elbowed him in the face, pushing him away from me.

Steve groaned as the smirk came back on his face. "Really?"

"Told you so." I shrugged my shoulders and returned his smirk with one of my own.

He got ready and waited for me to attack. I then tried to punch him but he blocked it again. Steve aimed a hook at my head but I ducked down just in time. A small groan escaped his lips as I kicked him on his left knee, sending him on one knee. I went to hit his face again but he brought his forearm up and blocked it. Steve then rolled over just in time to avoid my roundhouse kick. He then slid towards me and took this chance to kick both of my lower legs, making me fall onto the ground.

"Ugghh…" My head hit the mat as Steve went towards me with a worried look.

"Nadia, are you okay?" Steve then reached his hand out to me. "Here, let me help."

I took his hand and once I was up, this was another advantage for me. Turning around, I pulled my weight forward and flipped him over my body. A loud thud echoed through the whole training room as the super soldier hit the mat, earning a grunt from him.

I crouched down beside him with a smug smirk on my face. "I win."

A chuckle came out of his lips as he tried to even out his breathing. "Didn't see that one coming."

"It's called letting your guard down." I sat beside him and continued, "I just used what was offered to me."

"Well next time, remind me to never do that again," he answered back before chuckling. "You know, for someone as small as you, you sure do pack a punch." Steve had an amused smile on his face before laying his head back onto the mat.

Chuckling, I smirked at him and leaned back with my hand placed behind me for support. "That's why you never underestimate your opponent."

He laughed again and said, "Yeah, tell me about it."

I shook my head in amusement and let out a small laugh. Quick and loud footsteps disturbed the peaceful and comfortable ambiance between us. Steve and I quickly looked at the entrance to see who it was.

" _Oh God! Nadia!_ " my boisterous friend shouted as he entered the room. " _I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me! I-_ "

Once Carter realized that I wasn't alone, he stopped babbling and took in our appearance. I rolled my eyes at him as Steve laughed again after seeing what I did, seemingly amused by me and Carter. Carter's eyes darted between me and Steve as his curiosity was piqued. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," both Steve and I said at the same time, making us glance at each other.

"Oh…" Carter's mouth formed into an 'o' and I was so sure that he was suppressing the urge to smirk at us. This was not good at all. He was definitely going to fish about this so I decided to change the topic.

"You're late. Again. For the third time this week." I glared at Carter as he laughed nervously.

"About that, you see… I, uh…" He was nervously looking at anything but me.

"You overslept again. _You, lazy bum._ "

"Hey! In my defense, I stayed up late for something important."

"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes and said with sarcasm dripping in my voice, "Beating your top score in Galaga is so important."

"No, I wasn't playing," he answered without looking at me in the eye.

"Don't you think I know you by now after being your friend for the last ten years?"

"Psshh…That's impossible." He made a face, showing that he didn't believe me at all. From the corner of my eye, I could see Steve trying to hold his urge to laugh as he watched us in amusement.

"Really, Carter? You wanna play this game?" My eyes quickly narrowed after he answered me with a shrug. "Fine."

"You stutter when you can't come up with an excuse. You can't look at me in the eye when you lie. Then, you fidget so much when you've done something to piss me off or annoy me."

He looked at me with wide eyes as I smirked and said, "You still want me to continue?"

"Okay, okay! Jeez…" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're worse than Nana when you're like this."

"You're saying something?"

"Nothing… Hate it when you're so full of sass… I feel like so attacked…" he sulked as I slyly grinned at him.

"This is why you should never play this game with me."

Our banter was cut short when a laugh came out of a certain soldier's lips, making both Carter and I look at him. I raised a brow at him as my lips quirked up into an amused smile and Carter was doing the same thing.

When he noticed the silence, he flushed and said, "Sorry, I couldn't help it. It was amusing to watch you two."

"It's fine." Shaking my head, I smiled at him and let out a small laugh. Just the did I notice that Carter was looking between me and Steve with that familiar glint in his eyes.

Carter smirked at me before turning to Cap. "I haven't introduced myself. I'm Carter Williams. Call me Carter."

"Steve Rogers." Steve took Carter's extended hand and shook it.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Cap."

"Likewise." Steve smiled back.

"So, what were you guys doing just now?" Carter gave him that shrewd smile, making me purse my lips and glare at him. This was really bad because I could practically see those annoying thoughts that were running through his head.

"Sparring," Steve answered.

Carter merely raised a brow. "Just sparring?"

"Yeah, because a certain someone ditched me. Again." I glared at him, making him pout. Steve just chuckled at the free entertainment in front of him.

"You're seriously not gonna let that go, are you?"

"Do I look like I'm gonna let it go anytime soon, Carter?"

"No…" he grumbled like a little kid, who was being reprimanded. Steve laughed and shook his head while I smirked at my best friend. Time to end this. I was so sure Carter was going to bring it up again.

"Well, time to go. Thanks for the training, Rogers." I walked towards the exit while fixing my messy hair.

"Uh, Nadia!" Steve called, making me stop in my tracks and turn to him. He had that smile on his face again and it was confusing me. "Uh, do you think we can maybe do this again next time?"

I tilted my head to the side in confusion before giving him a small smile. "Sure. See you later."

I then started walking away as he said, "Yeah. See you, Nadia."

For some weird reasons, I couldn't help but let a smile appear on my face. It didn't last long because it was replaced by a frown when Carter quickly followed me with that annoying smirk on his face.

"Don't you even dare, Carter."

"No, I definitely will." He gave me a knowing smile when I turned to him. "What was that?"

I continued walking. "Nothing."

"No, there was. Something is going on between you two."

"Nothing is going on."

"You're trying to avoid it again." He sighed, making me stop in my tracks.

"You're letting your imaginations run wild again."

"No, I'm not. I'm not stupid, Nadia, and so are you." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me in the eye. "The way he looks at you was different and you weren't the usual you when you were around him today."

I kept quiet as he continued, "You smiled more when you were with him a while ago, which rarely happened since you know what happened. You were different."

"Carter, you're not gonna find anything because there is nothing."

"I'll definitely find something." He gave me one of his infamous smirks.

"Well, you're gonna need lots of luck."

"Challenge accepted!" Carter yelled as I walked away.

This reminded me of Tasha's words, making me question things that I tried to ignore. When I looked into Steve's eyes, I saw something that I didn't expect to see. They gleamed with happiness and amusement but there was something else. What was that? That unknown emotion in his eyes as he looked at me. Why was he even acting like this towards me anyway? I didn't get it at all and it was confusing me so much.

That unknown emotion in his eyes was there the whole time, especially when I laughed at him for the first time. The look on his face hinted me that he didn't expect what I did at all. Well, I wasn't expecting it as well.

This was me we were talking about. I wasn't one to do these kinds of things with someone I just met a few days ago. Besides, I became closed off after losing Ethan. Those unexpected laughs and smiles from me weren't intentional. They just happened without me knowing it and before I could even stop myself.

There was nothing I could say to all of the things that Carter said because he hit the nail on the head. I fled the scene before it got even worse. I couldn't let Carter dig any further. He was right when he said I was different because I felt it too.

What the hell was happening to me? Maybe it was because Steve and I understood each other's pain in some ways. But, was it really just that? Why was I acting like this towards Steve Rogers? He was making me feel things that I shouldn't be feeling. I didn't even know what was happening to me anymore. It was scaring the hell out of me.

* * *

Here you go, guys! Thank you for the follows and favorites, really happy to know people are liking this so far! :) What do you think about it? :) I love seeing the interactions between Carter and Nadia. Please drop me a review. :) Until next time~~! :D

Btw, any suggestions for a ship name for Steve and Nadia? ;)

\- Sylkes


	8. Chapter 7

**Nadia**

There were many thoughts running through my head at the moment and I just couldn't get them all out. Tasha's words, Carter's persistence, and most of all the time I spent with a certain super soldier. I was never like this after that certain mission happened and this sudden change in my behavior was scaring me. What was happening to me?

I had been trying to figure this all out since I left Carter a while ago. Nothing was making any sense to me and this was just making me more confused. Right now, I was just staring blankly at nothing in particular because thinking about all of these was just making my head hurt.

"Nadia!" Uncle Tony's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I jumped in my seat and yelped, "What?"

Uncle looked at me with knitted brows while worry was etched on his face. What? Did I get lost in my train of thoughts again?

"You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Definitely sure he wasn't convinced. Well, I couldn't blame him at all. After all, Uncle Tony was the one who comforted me during my dark times. You could say that I broke down quite a lot during that time.

"You look like something's bothering you."

"Just tired from training." I reassuringly smiled at him, making him raise a brow at me.

"Okay, come on. What is it?"

"It's nothing. I'm just really tired and this crazy alien invasion looming over us is not helping."

His eyes narrow slightly as he looked at me with suspicion. "Really?"

"I swear, Uncle." I let out a short laugh. "It's really nothing."

Uncle Tony looked at me suspiciously, still not convinced by my blatant attempt at covering up my problem. Then, Dr. Banner continuously scanned Loki's scepter as he caught our attention and said, "The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But, it's gonna take weeks to process."

Thank Banner for being a life saver! I definitely couldn't get out of that one because Uncle Tony was too persistent for his own good. Uncle gave me a look that told me that I still wasn't off the hook, making me softly groan.

He then went back to the monitors and continued what he was doing before he snapped me out of it again. "If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops."

"All I packed was a toothbrush." Banner chuckled as Uncle Tony walked towards him.

"You know you should come by Stark Towers sometime. Top ten floors, all R and D. You'd love it, it's candy land."

Moving closer to them, I laughed and smiled at the doctor. "Yeah, you definitely should. You'll love the toys and be all science bros with Uncle Tony. A word of warning though, he can be quite annoying and sarcastic." My uncle playfully glared at me while I merely smirked at him and shrugged.

Banner just shook his head in amusement and chuckled. "Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke…Harlem."

I actually pitied him because he never asked for any of this, but it all just happened. Now, he had to live with an alter ego, who he couldn't even control.

"Well, I promise a stress-free environment. No tension. No surprises." Uncle suddenly poked Banner with a small electrical shock device.

"Ow!" The doctor yelped in pain and looked at Uncle in confusion while rubbing his side.

On the other hand, I looked at my uncle like he grew another head. What was he thinking? Wait, never mind. _Scratch that! Was he out of his mind?_

"Hey!" Steve walked into to the lab, making me mutter a curse under my breath. Oh boy, this was not going to end well at all.

Uncle Tony just closely looked at Banner before saying, "Nothing?"

"Are you nuts?" The super soldier glared at my uncle but apparently, the latter just ignored him and continued to inspect Banner.

"Jury's out." He glanced at Steve before turning back to Banner. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"

"Uncle, please just drop it," I pleaded and heaved a sigh but as usual, he just ignored me.

Steve narrowed his eyes at Uncle Tony and fumed, "Is everything a joke to you?"

"Funny things are."

I resisted the urge to groan because Uncle was not making the situation any better, very typical of him. This was why a lot of people were so annoyed with him most of the time because he always liked to pick fights.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny." Steve then glanced at Banner. "No offense, Doctor."

"No, it… It's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things." Banner turned back to his work.

"You're tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut." Uncle then pointed the small electrical shock device and walked away from the doctor.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark." Steve narrowed his eyes at my nonchalant uncle.

"You think I'm not? Why did Fury call us and why now?" Uncle took out a small packet and opened it. "Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve knitted his brows, glancing slightly at me.

This was something I had to agree with Uncle. Fury was definitely hiding something and I was never informed of any of the operations with the cube. That was definitely sketchy as it was. What the hell was he doing with the cube anyway?

"He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets." Uncle Tony popped some blueberries into his mouth before pointing at me and nudging his towards Banner. "It's bugging them too, isn't it?"

Banner slightly tensed as he tried to get himself out of this controversial conversation. "Uh… I just wanna finish my work here and…"

Steve looked me before turning to the tensed doctor. "Doctor?"

Heaving a sigh, Banner took his glasses off and began, "A warm light for all mankind to share, Loki's jab at Fury about the cube."

"I heard it." Steve crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, I think that was meant for you." Banner pointed at Uncle Tony and took some of the blueberries that the latter offered to him. "Even if Barton didn't post that all over the news."

"The Stark Tower? That big ugly…" Steve stopped for a moment after seeing the looks that Uncle and I were giving him. "Building in New York?"

A frown crossed my face as I narrowed my eyes at Steve Rogers. I helped in making that tower and that was our baby. No one was allowed to say that it was ugly or throw insults at it when I was around.

"It's powered by Stark Reactors, self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?"

"That's just the prototype." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. Blueberry?" Uncle offered me some blueberries and I smiled at him, taking some and popping them in my mouth.

Banner gestured to Uncle Tony and me. "So, why didn't SHIELD bring them in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"That's exactly what I've been wondering since." I heaved a sigh as they all looked at me. "I didn't hear anything about this project until they brought me in because of a psychotic Asgardian on the loose."

Uncle Tony snorted as his lips quirked up into an amused smile. Shrugging my shoulders, I raised a brow at him while he shook his head. He then walked towards the super soldier and took out a small tablet from his pocket.

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

"What?" I looked at my uncle with slightly widened eyes. "JARVIS has been hacking into SHIELD's files? Since when?"

"I'm sorry, did you say…?" Steve couldn't even finish what he was saying because Uncle cut him off.

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, we'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide." He then pointed the bag of blueberries towards Steve. "Blueberry?"

Steve looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?"

"He has a point." I cut in, making the super soldier turn to me. "An intelligence organization that fears intelligence?"

It might not be the brightest idea but it was the only way of finding the answers we wanted. Clearly, we wouldn't get anything out of Fury even if we interrogated him.

"Historically not awesome," Uncle added as he munched on his blueberries.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them."

This was really bad. I had to stop this somehow because if I didn't, things would just get messy. "Both of you that's enough."

Apparently, Uncle Tony just ignored me and shoved blueberries into his mouth. "Following is not really my style."

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve narrowed his eyes at my uncle, clearly starting to get more frustrated and annoyed than he already was.

"Of the people in this room, which one is: a, wearing a spangly outfit and b, not of use?"

" _Uncle!_ " I hissed and frowned at my uncle's snide remark.

"What?" He gave me a look and shrugged his shoulders, making me roll my eyes.

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?" Banner intervened, making the soldier look at him.

"Just find the cube." Steve then angrily walked out of the lab, making me sigh for the nth time today.

This was what I was trying to prevent but apparently, these two just wouldn't listen. Heaving another sigh, I slowly stood up and headed towards the exit but my uncle stopped me.

"And where are you going?" Uncle Tony crossed his arms over his chest while raising a brow at me as I turned back to him.

"I'm gonna follow him." I pointed out like I was stating the obvious.

Uncle Tony's eyes quickly narrowed as he questioned me, "And, why exactly are you gonna follow him?"

"To apologize." He looked like he was about to complain so I cut him off, "No, Uncle, I'm not changing my mind."

I quickly left the lab because I didn't want Uncle Tony to pry any further. Now, where would that super soldier be? Then, something came into my mind because I might just know where he was going. On my way to the training room, I spotted Steve walking in the hallways and he seemed to be in deep thought.

"Hey!" I jogged towards him as he turned to me.

"Nadia." He tilted his head in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

He might have calmed down a bit but I could tell that he was still mad. Biting my bottom lip, I sighed and said, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" His furrowed brows matched the frown that crossed his face.

"For what Uncle Tony said and did. It was out of the line."

"It's not your fault, Nadia."

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "I know. It's just that I know him too well. Uncle Tony is a nice guy but he's too stubborn to accept the fact he's wrong or to apologize so… I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Steve gave me a small smile but it clearly wasn't a genuine one.

"You're lying." I crossed my arms over my chest and slightly furrowed my brows. "It's bothering you."

His shoulders slightly tensed. "It's really not…"

"Don't bother. That's not gonna work on me. Do you want to talk about it?"

Steve shook his head, trying to avoid my eyes. I really felt bad for him. Even though I saw myself in him, he was still going through a different thing, which was clearly worse than mine. He didn't even have a shoulder to cry on unlike me. He had been through a lot and something like this, he didn't deserve it.

There was just this urge in me that wanted to help him or at least ease his pain a little bit. My gut was telling me to do it so I did before thinking it through. Stepping forward, I took both of his hands in mine and slightly squeezed them, startling him. A smile graced my face as he looked at me in shock.

"You're not useless, Steve. You being here is already making a big difference. _Heck!_ You're trying to save the world from a lunatic demi-god named Loki, who is hell bent on conquering it. That says something." I scrunched my face while talking about that maniac. Apparently, this just made Steve shake his head in amusement as he laughed and it was very nice to hear it.

I couldn't help but let a wide grin grace my face, just hearing and watching him laugh at that. "Don't let my uncle's words bring you down. You're one of a kind, Steve Rogers. Don't ever doubt that."

Then, I saw them again in his eyes. They were showing me those emotions that confused me so much. _What exactly were they?_ Squeezing my hand, Steve just stared into my eyes without saying a word at all. The smile on his face was long gone and for some weird reasons, I couldn't look away from his eyes that had a breathtaking shade of blue. His eyes had this mystery in them that just seemed captivate and pull me into their endless depths.

All of a sudden, it hit me like a ton of bricks. What the hell did I just think? Why was I acting like this when it came to him? What was happening to me?

Biting my bottom lip, I tried to snap him out of his thoughts and stammered, "Why aren't you saying anything?" No answer. I then looked at him with slightly wide eyes. "Steve, did I actually say something weird? I don't really do these kinds of stuff so you're probably thinking I'm weird and not making any sense."

"Nadia, it's okay." He chuckled while looking at me with amusement in his eyes. "It's not weird. You're not weird."

"Oh…" I muttered, making my mouth form into an 'o'.

Steve then flashed me the brightest smile. "Thank you, Nadia."

"It's, uh, nothing." I gave him small smile while biting my lip. My gaze drifted to our hands that still held each other. "Uh, Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Hands."

After realizing what I said, Steve quickly let go of my hands as a light tint of pink dusted his cheeks. "I, uh… uh, sorry."

To be honest, this was quite funny and amusing. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing because I couldn't help it. "It's okay." I softly chuckled, making him blush harder. "So, were you going to the training room?"

"No, not really. Just walking aimlessly."

My eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion as I looked at Steve, who looked slightly tense. Avoiding my eyes was just fueling my suspicion. He was hiding something, judging from his actions.

"You're hiding something." I crossed my arms over my chest as he looked at me with a surprised expression on his face. "Care to share?"

"I have a bad feeling in my gut. Something's not right." He heaved a sigh.

"Well, me too. I hate to say this but I agree with lunatic Loki. Fury must have been doing something with the cube that caused all of this mess." As I looked at him, something seemed to have dawned on him. Like a light bulb was suddenly lit. Was he actually thinking of that? I tilted my head to the side. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

A smirk made its way on his face. "Follow me and see."

Steve then led me to a few hallways until we reached a storage room with the words "SECURE STORAGE 10-C" written on the door. No one was here because people rarely came to this part of the Helicarrier and to be honest, I barely went here too. Hopefully, no one would come because we would be in big trouble.

"Unlike the rest, this storage has a security code lock." I examined the lock beside the door while trying to figure out how to unlock it. "I can hack it and use a decryption code to–" The sound of scraping metals caught my attention as I turned to the source while murmuring, "…Unlock it."

Steve slid the heavy iron door open before turning to me as I looked at him with my mouth slightly hanging and uttered, "Or we can do that too."

Steve had a wide grin on his face as a short laugh escaped his lips. "Come on."

Both of us cautiously walked into the room and the first thing we noticed was this room was filled with metal crates, that contained God knew what. What the hell were all of these anyway? What was Fury even hiding?

"What do you think is inside these crates?" Steve looked around the room with knitted brows.

I examined the crates before glancing at my companion. "I don't know. But whatever these are, they're giving a bad feeling in my gut."

Looking up, the super soldier leaped up to the second level and then grabbed ahold of the catwalk's railing. He then pulled himself up and landed on the catwalk before motioning me to follow him. I heaved a sigh and jumped on a crate before jumping again and grasping the railing. Steve gave me an amused smile as I swung myself over the railing and stood beside him.

"What?" I tilted my head in confusion.

He then shook his head and grinned. "Nothing. I'm just impressed."

"Well, I did beat your ass."

"Language."

My eyes widened slightly as did his. I then snapped out of it and smirked at the super soldier. "Really, Cap? Language?"

"Just slipped out?" He smiled sheepishly while flushing in embarrassment.

"Really now…?" My smirk just grew bigger, watching the super soldier blush a darker shade of red.

"You're not gonna let that go, are you?"

"Nope." I was quite enjoying this, messing with him. He pursed his lips into a thin line but I could see that he was slightly amused by all of this. "Okay, I was just kidding."

He let out a sigh of relief but that didn't last long because I just crushed his hope. "Definitely not."

I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing as he groaned, "Seriously?"

"Seriously." My answer earned another groan from Steve while I then nudged my head towards the crates. "Come on, soldier."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"Right. Sorry, Nadia." He smiled sheepishly as an idea popped into my head.

I then smirked at the already embarrassed super soldier. "And, that is why you should watch your language, Cap."

This time I couldn't stop myself from laughing as he groaned for the third time and murmured, "That's not gonna go away anytime soon."

"You bet, Rogers." I laughed again while walking ahead of him. It took him a second or two to follow me. I just couldn't help it. It was fun to mess with him especially when he got all red and flustered.

After a while, I reached another room that was filled with more crates. My curiosity was getting the best of me again. I walked towards a crate and examined it. It was the same as the rest so these crates probably contained the same thing. Slowly removing the lid, I couldn't believe what I was seeing at all. _What the hell?_

"Steve!" I called as his quick footsteps rang in my ears. "You better see this."

"What's wrong?" Steve tilted his head in confusion before obliging. Once he saw what was in the crate, pure anger quickly flashed in his eyes. What were these anyway? I looked at the file on the lid and it all dawned upon me why Steve was beyond mad. Phase 2. _What the hell was SHIELD doing?_

* * *

I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER! I'm so sorry for the long wait! Thank you guys for reading and for the follows and favorites. There are more Stedia scenes on this one and I just love seeing them interact with each other. Shoutout to **kawaiixkisses** for the lovely ship name, thank you so much! ;) So, what do you guys think about this chapter? :) Until next time~~! :D

\- Sylkes


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